Commentary Update for November 18, 2003
1. This Week's Show: Due to some unfortunate technical problems, our interview with County Supervisors Mike Norton and Claud Thompson did not get aired last week. We think we have the technical problems under control and so the Norton/Thompson interview with be broadcast on channel 66 every night this week at 7 p.m.
2. PATRIOT Act Forum Reminder: Just a reminder that tonight (Tuesday) the League of Women Voters is sponsoring "Personal Rights and the PATRIOT Act," a panel discussion featuring UW Oshkosh professor of political science Martin Gruberg, UW Oshkosh professor of criminal justice Kam Wong, and Oshkosh Public Library Director John Nichols. Oh yeah, I'm on the panel also. The event will be held at the Coughlin Building (625 E. County Road Y) from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
3. Taking the Message to Miami: On Wednesday I bring East Coast cynicism/Midwest populism message to Miami in a few panels that are part of the annual National Communication Association meeting. I'm participating on two panels. I thought I might just do the panels and relax a bit, but it turns out that my field's leaders had the gumption to schedule the conference at the same time as the massive protest of the Free Trade Area of Americas. (Actually, the scheduling was just a coincidence; gumption is in short supply among academic convention planners). I'm going to try and fit in some protest activities, perhaps hook up with the Wisconsin Fair Trade Campaign members who will be there in fairly good numbers. The only thing I refuse to do is wear a Janet Reno fan club T-shirt in Little Havana.
4. Public Input Suppression Act of 2003: From the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign's Mike McCabe,"Late last week, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign reported that special interests supporting a fast-tracked business deregulation bill have made $7 million in campaign contributions to current members of the Legislature. It now has come to light that these big donors not only back the legislation, they wrote it."
5. Remember the Caucus Scandal?: Common Cause in Wisconsin's Jay Heck keeps us posted on what's going on with the legislative caucus scandal.
6. Simile of the Week: Bill Moyers delivered a fine keynote address at the National Conference on Media Reform on November 8th in Madison. Speaking about government secrecy, he said, "The classifier’s Top Secret stamp, used indiscriminately, is as potent a silencer as a writ of arrest." Be sure to check out Ed Garvey's rant about the almost total media censorship of the media reform conference.
7. CIA Report Confirms Antiwar Movement Warnings: Remember when those antiwar protesters, many of whom had their patriotism questioned, said that the Iraqi resistance to the US presence would be much more widespread than Rummy's ruminations suggested? Well, it turns out that the CIA has reached essentially the same conclusions as the antiwar movement.
All the best,
-Tony